Slimming down thighs

I weigh 142.6lbs and most of my fat is in my thighs. I don't want to lose to much fat in my thighs because if I do I will lose my curves/butt. So is there way where I can slim down my thighs and and build muscles in my glutes?
Thanks ☺️
Btw I plan on eating 1300 calories a day and burning 300-500 calories by running and strength training

Replies

  • Eat more.
  • LisaAnn642015
    LisaAnn642015 Posts: 91 Member
    I would think the traditional squats, lunges, and dips would keep your backside and strengthen slim your legs too, partly our genetics controls some of what we look like ( I also have a lot of weight in my thighs but since lifting heavier weights I'm starting to see a little toning so I'm going to continue to lift and try to increase weights every week until I see the results I'm looking for) Best of luck!
  • valmaebel
    valmaebel Posts: 1,045 Member
    Basically, you can't target any area for specific fat burn or not fat burn. Either you lose fat or gain it, equally all over your body. So in one way, you can't target an area and try to preserve another. But you can work on building a lot of muscle in your butt and thighs so they have a lot of good definition. But there's really no way to focus an area for burning fat.
  • Panone2
    Panone2 Posts: 31 Member
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?

    No.

    You can't spot reduce fat.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    edited September 2015
    you can not spot reduce
  • dais718
    dais718 Posts: 7 Member
    Lifting (for me) made me a bit bulky on my thighs. I think walking helped the most to slim down my thighs and it kept my bum for the most part. Cardio does work for slimming down.

    If you pack on muscle easily, stay away from exercising intensely there (like do elliptical or low intensity running on the treadmill instead of HIIT) and just do cardio and non-weighted squats/lunges :) although weights could help slim you down so it just depends how your body works!

    Walking imo is the easiest and foolproof way to slim down legs

    Also eat more or you'll burn out! Do your BMR + how many calories you burn that day running! :D
  • valmaebel
    valmaebel Posts: 1,045 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?

    In a matter of speaking. If you're in a 500 calorie deficit from maintanence calories, and use cardio to up the amount of calories you eat...then you will lose fat. So that will slim down everything...including your thighs. But you can't target an area and ONLY lose fat in that one area. Your body gleans fat uniformly from everywhere to use as fuel.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    edited September 2015
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    You can't spot reduce.
    You won't gain much in the way of muscle while eating at a calorie deficit.
    Lifting and cardio are both good for your health and fitness.
    How tall are you? 1300 calories might not be enough for you.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
  • Panone2
    Panone2 Posts: 31 Member
    I'm 5'6 1/2 so how many calories should I be eating and how many calories should I be burning?
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    I'm 5'6 1/2 so how many calories should I be eating and how many calories should I be burning?

    You haven't read the stickies... https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177910/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

    Read them all.

  • Bagheerah
    Bagheerah Posts: 10 Member
    edited September 2015
    It seems like we share the same feature --- being prone to storing fat on our hips and thighs. I'll share how I get rid of it, or, rather transform it into toned lean strong muscle.
    1. Cardio training /running, hiking, jumping rope/
    2. Strength training with my body weight or minimal weight (heavier weights add muscle to my legs which I personally don't find particularly feminine) but frequent repetitions.
    3. Stretching. A lot of stretching. That adds tremendous flexibility and leans out thighs in the long run.
    4. Reduce sugar and salt and increase protein intake staying within 1,200-1,500 calories a day /I'm 5'5"/

    *Disclaimer: those are the tips that help me.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Bagheerah wrote: »
    It seems like we share the same feature --- being prone to storing fat on our hips and thighs. I'll share how I get rid of it, or, rather transform it into toned lean strong muscle.
    1. Cardio training /running, hiking, jumping rope/
    2. Strength training with my body weight or minimal weight (heavier weights add muscle to my legs which I personally don't find particularly feminine) but frequent repetitions.
    3. Stretching. A lot of stretching. That adds tremendous flexibility and leans out thighs in the long run.
    4. Reduce sugar and salt and increase protein intake staying within 1,200-1,500 calories a day /I'm 5'5"/

    *Disclaimer: those are the tips that help me.

    This is complete bro-science and is wrong on so many levels.

    2. Heavy weights are heavily advised for females. Why? Well you are already at a big disadvantage for muscle growth because you have less testosterone... you're making sound as if you're doing it with ease so you refrain from using heavy weights. Lol not the case. And to be honest... more repetitions is more hypertrophy than strength. Which is a pretty good way of adding mass.

    3. Stretching doesn't lean out muscle. That makes no sense. It's not going to reduce intramuscular fat or overlying fat. It's good for flexibility and mobility. For leaning out? Makes no sense.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    That's not necessarily how it works. Fat doesn't come off proportionally.

    OP, get the book Strong Curves. Eat at a moderate deficit. At your height/weight, if you're doing a program like SC and 30-45 minutes of cardio a couple of times a week, you could eat 1800-1900ish calories and do well while losing.
  • Bagheerah
    Bagheerah Posts: 10 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.

    I agree, as a rule the most stubborn fat goes away last, or at least it's perceived that way while your body starts shrinking.

  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    valmaebel wrote:
    Basically, you can't target any area for specific fat burn or not fat burn. Either you lose fat or gain it, equally all over your body. So in one way, you can't target an area and try to preserve another. But you can work on building a lot of muscle in your butt and thighs so they have a lot of good definition. But there's really no way to focus an area for burning fat.
    What she said, exactly.
    Look at your relatives to see your genetics. Hard to fight that. If all your female relatives are built like a pear,
    and you're female, you're probably going to be shaped like a pear to some degree.

    Yes, cardio burns fat. In fact, the elliptical is a very efficient way of doing that.

    As for "how much should I eat?", here's a calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine which will tell you not
    only your BMI at whatever weight, but also how many calories to eat to maintain that weight, AND how many
    servings of the various food groups you should be eating.
    https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Unfortunately, there's no such thing as spot fat reduction. I am the same as you as I have huge thighs. I swear I'm going to have 6 pack abs before I lose any fat on my thighs.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
    Uhh, well, based on what she said, her genetics seem to dictate that it's all (mostly) in her thighs, so where are you expecting the fat to come from. It's common sense really.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
    Uhh, well, based on what she said, her genetics seem to dictate that it's all (mostly) in her thighs, so where are you expecting the fat to come from. It's common sense really.

    That is still not spot reducing fat.

    You're not going to lose fat from one specific place. It's going to come from every where. Maybe not all in the same quantities.

    You might carry a lot of fat in your arms, and when you start losing weight, it might come from there first. But you're only going to notice it there because that's where you want it to be gone from. Is that spot reduction? No. That's just chance.

    It's common sense really.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
    Uhh, well, based on what she said, her genetics seem to dictate that it's all (mostly) in her thighs, so where are you expecting the fat to come from. It's common sense really.

    Her body may decide to strip fat from other areas still. Her concerns that she doesn't want to lose her "curves/butt" indicates that she doesn't just have fat on her thighs.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Bagheerah wrote: »
    It seems like we share the same feature --- being prone to storing fat on our hips and thighs. I'll share how I get rid of it, or, rather transform it into toned lean strong muscle.
    1. Cardio training /running, hiking, jumping rope/
    2. Strength training with my body weight or minimal weight (heavier weights add muscle to my legs which I personally don't find particularly feminine) but frequent repetitions.
    3. Stretching. A lot of stretching. That adds tremendous flexibility and leans out thighs in the long run.
    4. Reduce sugar and salt and increase protein intake staying within 1,200-1,500 calories a day /I'm 5'5"/

    *Disclaimer: those are the tips that help me.

    Op says she's eating a deficit so she would not gain muscle to her legs by lifting heavy.

    And how would stretching lean out thighs ?? Just think about that for a minute. Really.

    And how would reducing sugar and salt help this op in her quest for slim thighs ????
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    liposuction.

    you can spot reduce that way.

  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    liposuction.

    you can spot reduce that way.

    Yes, yes you can. That's very true
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    Lol...
  • Panone2
    Panone2 Posts: 31 Member
    Okay so pretty much I should eat 1200 -1500 calories a day and follow the strong curves program and do 30-45 mins of cardio and do strength training with heavy weights?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
    Uhh, well, based on what she said, her genetics seem to dictate that it's all (mostly) in her thighs, so where are you expecting the fat to come from. It's common sense really.

    It's not common sense. Are you kidding me? Just because you hold a lot of fat in one area, it doesn't mean it's going to come off there first, or be easy to come off in general. As a pear shaped woman holding a lot of fat in my thighs, my upper body just gets smaller and smaller and smaller before I lose inches below the waist.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Panone2 wrote: »
    Okay but will cardio also help slim it down ?
    No.
    You can't spot reduce fat.

    In this case, yes, she sort of can. She said she carries most of her fat in her thighs, so naturally, that's where most of the fat will come from. There are people with slim arms, flat stomachs, no boobs and then bam! a big butt and thighs. If majority (say 70%) of excess fat is in your hips/thighs/butt, and you lose 20 lbs, then it should follow that 70% of that will come off that area.

    Cardio increases your deficit which is what's necessary to burn fat. So yes it will help slim you down. After you've shrunk your thighs to your satisfaction and want to grow glute muscles, then a targeted weight training may help.

    Uhh you sort of can't.

    You lose fat wherever, your genetics dictate that.
    Uhh, well, based on what she said, her genetics seem to dictate that it's all (mostly) in her thighs, so where are you expecting the fat to come from. It's common sense really.

    Just to weigh in on this comment. My trouble spots were my tummy and thighs. I lost weight on my face, arms, chest area (collarbones were jutting out). Pretty much all the places where I didn't need to lose any weight from, before my legs and tummy started to reduce.